How I Learned to Teach Reading

Reading is one of the most unnatural things that we teach children to do. It's not like learning to talk, which for most children comes naturally as a result of hearing spoken words. It's also not a matter of simple memorization, which kids can also pick up very early.

When we talk about a school-aged child's ability to read, we mean that she can decode the words, assign meaning to them, and comprehend what has been read. As an early-grades educator, I found that this skill is best developed through direct instruction in phonics in the context of engaging reading material—but it took me a while to figure this out.